Maxy got me thinking about it, when he mentioned reading a McClellan book. By the way, was it "War, Baby: The Glamour of Violence"?

The other book I want to get is 'The arc of boxing'. Does anybody have any other real good boxing books that is worth checking out?

I actually found Teddy Atlas's book pretty good. "From The Streets To The Ring"... Read it in two days, I couldn't put it down.

I have always like Muhammad Ali's "Soul of a Butterfly". Definitely shows you a different side of the great one.

Atlas' book was amazing..

Flame of Pure Fire--Jack Dempsey

The Ageless Warrior--Archie Moore---GREAT book..I highly suggest it..

Sugar Ray--Sugar Ray Robinson

Joe Louis:My Life--Joe Louis---I really liked this book a lot too..

Holyfield--The Humble Warrior and also The Real Deal---You all know there was going to be a Holyfield book or 2 on the list..

The Fighting Irish--All about how boxing first came about in England and how the English,Irish,and Jews were the first 3 to start prize fighting..Then it goes through history..Bad ass book..

Going the Distance--Ken Norton

All highly suggested..I may of had a better list with more details on a different thread with a similiar topic..I met Ken Norton and talked with him for like an hour so I had to read his book..You guys may not like it as much unless you're a true Norton fan..All the others are must reads!!

IMO the best book on Ali is "King of the World" by David Remnick.

"Dark Trade" by Donald McRae is really entertaining.

"One Ring Circus" by Katherine Dunn is probably the most poetic I've ever seen someone write about boxing.

"The Fight" by Normal Mailer is a good read, though like always, a lot of it is about Mailer, in addition to the fight.

"Buttercups and Strong Boys" by William Plummer is another good read.

"Heart, Soul, Fire: The Life of Paul Briggs" by Paul Briggs is actually a pretty damn good read. Got a lot more respect for Briggs after reading that one.

There are so many others out there. I'm a huge boxing book worm.

Thanks for the list snoop. I read a bit of the synopsis of some of the books you mentioned and so far, your list intrigues me the most. I think I am more generally interested in reading things about the sports, things that happen behind closed doors. I don't know.
Some, but not usually autobiographies on fighters don't always appeal to me, unless they are a pretty interesting character where they do genuinely interest me.

You should read Atlas' book if you haven't..Also,the book The Fighting Irish I think you would like too..It's all about how boxing started up..

"One Ring Circus" I have seen before although I haven't read it all..Good book though from what I did read..Wish I read it all..

Fitz,for some reason when I was buying a lot of boxing books,I mostly stuck to autobios and bios of boxers..I really want a book about trainers throughout history since you do get that behind closed doors look..

These books all seem to be non-fiction...I haven't really read any of those, though I always wanted to check out 'The Devil and Sonny Liston'. Amazon customer reviews don't think much of the author, but it seems interesting.

A fiction book that I read is The Power of One written by a South African bloke named Bryce Courtenay, who now resides in OZ. I also read its sequel Tandia, which I had to special order from Down Unda since it's not available in the states. But in any case, I loved the Power of One book sooo much better than the movie that I actually turned the movie off because of how far removed from the story it was.

"First with the head, then with the heart."...the one statement that drives the character to excel in all area in and out of the ring. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Not trying to turn the tide of this thread but have you seen the new Sonny Liston movie Phantom punch with Ving Rhames??I saw it and liked it but I kinda wish they would have taken out some of the sex scenes..

Anyway,Ving is a dope actor and I like how he wants all these roles as a boxer..I would of liked to have seen him cut down on some size to play Liston though since Ving is a massive guy..The fight scenes suck though in my opinion..

They might be really good, though like I said. Only some fighters that interest me as a person intrigue me. For some reason I picture all of them talking about how rough their life was as a youngster, tells us a few key stories from when they were younger and how they came up. I don't know, I usually picture them being the same.
I could be wrong, because you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover (sorry about the bad pun). But sometimes I just can't bring myself to reading someones auto-biography if they don't really interest me (other than being a real good fighter).

No worries. I have another one called "Shadowbox" by George Pimpleton. I haven't read it yet but I've heard good things. Definitely check out "Dark Trade" though if you like things behind closed doors. Author is pretty talented as well, ending was kind of weak though.


"One Ring Circus" is a collection of essay written by Katherine Dunn. I dunno why, but I just love the way she portrays the boxers in such a humane way. It's all very real and humble dictation of the gym. "Shadowboxers" is a photography collection of boxing gyms throughout the US (Also a GREAT book if you like photography) where Dunn writes a piece called "School of Hard Knocks". It's an excellent piece. I can send it to anyone that wants it.


Have that book but it's hard to get into. Dunno if it's the writing style or what, but it's kind of a difficult read.


Apart from when the author is describing the boxing scenes, I hate that book. It's just one of those things where the protagonist is so perfect and his humility is so contrived you're kinda like . At least for me anyway.